One of the more memorable characters from Blade was Pearl, the overly disgusting, vampire record keeper.

We spoke with Eric Edwards about his part in the Blade movie.

The Big Bad Wolf: Does it feel like it has been 10 years already?

Eric Edwards: No. Not at all. When you told me that I was like oh shoot, it has been ten years! That is the best big budget movie I have been in. It had such an impact on filmmaking. It widened the doors to artistic gore. High Tension, The Matrix all seemed to be influenced to it.

Stephen Dorff lit that movie up. I am a big fan of his. It was great to be at the table and read with him. The finished product itself was great.

Steven Norrington also did a fantastic job directing.


The Big Bad Wolf: How did you get involved in Blade?

Eric Edwards: I was one of the few fat guys in town. (laughs) When it came down to negotiation, we tried to pull the fat card. New line was like "Wait a sec, he is in a prosethetic outfit." (laughs) It is basically a voiceover job.

I had a two guys playing each arm. That suit fit three of us in there. It was pretty wild.

The Big Bad Wolf: Did you have any idea who Blade was before the film; Did you read the old Tomb of Dracula comics?

Eric Edwards: No at all. I am geeky and gerdy in different realms. When I was younger, we travelled a lot so I never really collected a lot. I was into cartoons about super heroes.

I used to love the Hulk and Spiderman cartoon. When it came to comics I never got into the alternative genres. If I read anything it would be superhero ones like Spiderman etc.

The Big Bad Wolf: How long did it take you to get into the "Pearl" makeup?

Eric Edwards: It was a five hour job every morning. I would fall asleep in the chair. I would have these really weird dreams of being rained on beacuse they were poking me to get the prosethetics to stick. To get into the suit was actually a 45 minute job.

The Big Bad Wolf: How was it working with Wesley Snipes during the scene?

Eric Edwards: It was awesome. He was very nice. I didn't get to interact with him too much. After the film had wrapped, he invited me to a party they had for the film. He was a pro though. He greenlit me to be in it. So God Bless him!

The Big Bad Wolf: Did everyone share a laugh the first time they saw you as "Pearl"?

Eric Edwards: People were grossed out! I have such a love hate with that kind of character. I was such an overweight guy, that was my perception of myself. After seeing that I lost so much weight.

I love the movie. It is such a great movie that had a huge impact. The actual process of it I felt like "Man, I'm fat. Waah, waah!" (laughs)

It was really a blast though.

The Big Bad Wolf: Looking back, what is your favorite memory during filming?

Eric Edwards: I am herrendous with names, and I feel bad that I don't remember her's, I want to say it was Michelle, but. She was one of the make-up people that I had worked with when I was a production assistant, back in Tucson. Her and that crew had all chipped in to buy me a car to drive out to L.A. to pursue my acting career. It was great to see her again.

Also, I was a big fan of Labrynith. I believe Norrington did the special effects in that movie. Also to work with Stephen Dorff, Wesley Snipes.

Snipes is a great actor, he is also a great action star. It was also just neat to work with a super star, and also know he wasn't much taller than me. (laughs) That dude is ripped! He looks tall on screen, which gives me hope. (laughs)

I recently watched Jungle Fever again and thought "Damn, he is such a good actor." There is no mistake why he became a huge star.

The Big Bad Wolf: Do you keep in touch with any of the cast members?

Eric Edwards: No. I was kind of so alone in my scene. I wish I would have. It was just me and the two puppeteers.

The Big Bad Wolf: Did you get to keep anything from the set?

Eric Edwards: Its interesting. I had my original headcast for the Pearl suit and I gave it to a friend and signed it. He has been directing my one man show so I gave it as a gift to him. They gave us this little knife from blade as well.

That was such a really cool experience. My only regret is that I wish I picked a part where I was more recognizable. I was in a great movie.

The Big Bad Wolf: Did you think that Blade would be such an impactful film? It pretty much kicked off all the Marvel movies, had two sequels, a tv show, and even inspired other movies, like The Matrix.

Eric Edwards: Thank God! I am very fortunate because Blade fans are so cool! I never had a weird experience with anyone who contacted me from Blade.

I really wish the series kept going.

I am really into martial arts that is one of the reasons I love the Blade series. I have been studying stick fighting, Filipino Kali, since 1998.

The Big Bad Wolf: I know you weren't in the scene, but were you on set for the blodbath?

Eric Edwards: No. It was so epic! I would have love to been in it.

I learned so much about acting from the Blade table read. I was actually just starting to teach acting at my school with Jeff Goldbloom. In the reading, I saw Wesley Sinpes and Stephen Dorff cutting lines they thought weren't necessary. I thought it was kind of cool.

They both approached it as a team. Let's make a great project. At the wrap party I saw Stephen Dorff and Wesley Snipes share this moment of appreciation for creating a cool movie.

When I saw the opening scene I was stunned. That was a very culturally driven extras. It was a real representation of a big city.

My buddy, Chirs Hardwick, he was the host of Singled Out and was in House of 1000 Corpses. He is so bright and funny. His favorite movie is Blade.

Hopefully I will be in a few more great movies. (laughs)

The Big Bad Wolf: What are you working on today?

Eric Edwards: I just wrapped a film I have been producing called, Dead in Love. He has done a lot of stuff for Troma. It is about two people that are dead that try to track down a girl they are in love with.

I directed a short I am going to put on YouTube. It is in the vain of "The Landlord". It is pretty funny, hopefully it will catch on.

I have a few commercials I am running as well.

I also have my one man show, "Just Step". I lost 210 pounds.

The Big Bad Wolf: Thank you for your time Eric! Best of luck with everything in your future!

Talk about the Eric Edwards Interview.